A long way from our boat...

[(Nobody You Know)]

Why am I always the last one to post a response to a thread??

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Bill,
Apparently, once you have spoken, there is nothing more that can be said. You are, indeed, the final word on any and all subjects.

 

[MikeP]

Thanks All!

As usual, some very insightful and valuable input. Private airplanes are out! I have a commercial helicopter rating and consequently, don't trust any kind of aircraft that can't land in it's own length!

Helicopters are out too since only companies can afford to operate them!

I kinda like the "move it south in increments" idea. That sounds fun AND workable!

After reading the responses I got to seriously thinking about how much we used the boat in NY - I mean REALLY USED it, not just sat on it. It suddenly occured to me that it wasn't what I'd call well-used. From May-Sep we made a couple of week-long trips and a fair number of overnight weekend outings but that was about it.

I said if I kept it here we wouldn't use it very much but actually, if we only used it once a month for a few days, we'd ACTUALLY use the boat more per year than we did in NY. It certainly wouldn't be as conveniant to work on but we are seriously now considering more options than we were before I posted the question here.

THANKS!!!!!!

 

[jim rosenthal]

Mike, I would hang on to the boat if at all possible. When you want to replace it five years from now, all of her contemporaries will be that much older, require that much more, and maybe not that much cheaper than their actual selling prices now.

How about this? A move South in stages, as he said. First stop, Chesapeake Bay. If you leave the boat here, you can store it at Piney Narrows in a covered slip for about what you are spending in NY, I suspect. I will keep an eye on it, visit it regularly and make sure everything is okay. This is a good place to boat from, and the season is a little longer than up North. Easy access by air.

Next stop- Tidewater, VA. Again, covered storage available, nice place to boat from, etc. Easy access by air.

Next? NC or SC- not sure enough on the geography. But you can work your way South and either end up with the boat in Mexico, or close enough to Mexico that you get a lot of use out of it, like on the Gulf Coast, maybe?

I think wherever you go, to preserve her condition and your investment, you should have the boat in covered slips if at all possible.

Other alternative- move her North to the Great Lakes, like he said, and store indoors. She will be fine when you take her out. Sure, there will be some dry seals, but if everything is properly put away, you should be able to put her back in service with a minimum of difficulty. You would save on haulouts, for sure, and have a clean bottom when you started boating again.

Good luck with this. We would hate to see you give up Brigadoon, one of the nicer 53s I have ever seen, and equipped with a very cool name in the bargain.

 

[Boatsb]

I like the idea of stages and it looks like there is a member at each stage that would help with the storage of teh vessel for the off time. Get her to Florida end there is many of us able to keep an eye on her and thet could be the end of a 2-3 year cruise. then start back if you plan to bring her back north again and enjoy the runs and the people you meet on the way.

Just dont run it up the river to Tenn. Not good for the boat.

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

Bill,
Apparently, once you have spoken, there is nothing more that can be said. You are, indeed, the final word on any and all subjects.

I'm flattered, but not worthy

Mike,

I think all your freinds no doubt hope that whatever you do brings you satisfaction and not stress. I for one remain hopeful that Brigadoonz will be venturing south this spring - but only if it works out for you. I think you will have no problem finding affordable and good quality safe marinas like Jim made reference to. And you will probably not run out of other qualified Hatteras owners close by to keep an eye on her while you are in transit as "Boatsb" suggested.

Either way I certainly hope work this out to your satisfaction. As I am up and down the east coast (be in Savannah Sat.) every week or so I (and I'm sure many others) will galdly help you any way I (we) can.

Somebody pick it up from here, ok?

 

[Norm Mayer]

I would be happy to help. I am in N Ft Myers and can help you find a slip, watch over it, and help find GOOd help to maintain her. I will send you a PM soon. Call if you wish.

 

[Paul45c]

If I were you, Mike, I'd be 1) appreciative of all these generous offers to look out for the boat, but 2) wondering who among these I'd consider qualified to take her out, say, once per month to put the DD's under load and keep her fit & trim.

Sounds like you out to have a "Brigadoon" party/tryout to get those in best position to put her through her paces under your watchful eye so you know who you could lean on to keep her mechanicals turning during your long absences.

 

[MikeP]

I GREATLY appreciate all the offers to help with Brigadoon's possible move south. The Admiral and I have discussed this at length and decided that we are keeping the boat and moving it in stages. We haven't yet consdered when this will occur or where the stages will be but that isn't a huge issue at the moment since the boat is wintering as usual in Long Island. She'll go back into the water into her usual slip in April and her slip is paid up through next Sep. So we can begin "stage 1" anytime during the season.

The marina will refund the portion of the slip rental we don't use so if we move her in May, for example, we won't lose the money that paid for the slip from that point through Sep. I will be back in NY for a month or so beginning in mid-Mar. I'll be doing a bit of boat work but the majority of the time will be spent putting the house up for sale and getting the movers in to transport our household goods to Mexico. We will be moving out of our temporary furnished apartment here in the Polanco area of Mexico City to a house (also in Polanco) on March 1. Until our stuff gets here, which takes 30-45 days from the day it is loaded up in NY, the only thing we'll have in the house is a borrowed bed and a table with a couple of chairs! Reminds me of camping and I haven't liked camping since I was a kid. Actually, I can't remember ever liking camping.

We'll sort out the specifics for the boat over the next few months and develop a "plan."

We are flying to Ixtapa next week - the Admiral has a meeting there. It will give us a good chance to check out a possible eventual home for Brigadoon.

Again, we really appreciate all the offers to assist!

 

[arimkus]

Mike,
Come spring time if you need any assistance give me a call. Live just accross the Sound from you.
Al

 

[MikeP]

Slip Fees in Mexico - OUCH

Checked slip fees in Ixtapa. They're higher than they are in Northport, NY!! A year's slip rental is a bit over $12,000 Plus electricity and tax! At Northport we were paying around 10k and I thought that was high. I'm finding that with virtually everything, it ain't your dad's Mexico anymore. All "goods," including groceries cost 30% more than in NY. The only things we have found to be cheaper here so far are liquor, eating out, and maids. Admittedly, we are living in one of the most expensive districts of Mexico City.

Well, we'll be in Ixtapa tomorrow for a meeting; I'll see if the Admiral can sweet-talk them down on their rates. She's pretty good at that. Here's hoping.

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

Re: Slip Fees in Mexico - OUCH

The only things we have found to be cheaper here so far are liquor, eating out, and maids.

Mike, we all want youy to make the right decision. We need more information on the "maids" thing.

 

[MikeP]

Perhaps I should have said, "house Cleaners." Although they are actually cookers/cleaners. Down here a live-in maid will cost you about 400/month. In NY we had a once a week maid who only spent about 3 hours cleaning the house and it cost us 350 a month!! All houses and apartments are built with quarters for a (or several) live-in maids. The owners of the house we will be renting employed 3 of them - 2 maids and one gardner. No, the house is not that big - no larger than the house we are selling in NY that had the once/week maid.

I'm in Ixtapa now and once again surprised at the prices here in Mexico. We visited the Marina yesterday. It's very well protected and quite nice though a bit seedy in spots. It looks like a "development" that never quite achieved the "class" that it was supposed to. The marina is perhaps 2/3 occupied - maybe a bit less. However, that hasn't effected the prices they are charging. There are definitely some nice boats there - our 53 would be among the smaller boats in general. I couldn't find any Hatts at all and the majority of the boats belong to the euro-swoopy look. There may have been two or three "classic" looking boats but that was it.

The marina stores are all very upscale looking - all glass and very chi-chi. Prices are the same. Resturants around the marina are very expensive (NY prices +) and the food is quite poor. We talked to the marina folks and they won't come off their prices at all, even though we offered to pay them a year in advance in cash using either Pesos or US dollars. The slip price - $12150 a year - does not include anything else at all. There are also no haul-out faciltiites here. It appears that the nearest haul out facilities are in Manzanillo which is about 180miles north.

My impression is that themajority of boats in the marina aren't "permanent" here. Actually, the majority we saw and could read the names/hailing ports were from the US, including many from the east coast - Delaware, RI, etc.

Obviously, the marina caters to the class of boaters that we probably all wish we were - the "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" boaters. Unfortunately, we have to ask! I didn't ask about the price of Diesel - I can't imagine it's less at the marina than it is in Mexico City and fuel in the city is around $3 a gallon. There's only one fuel company in Mexico and it's owned by the government so there is no competition to help reduce prices.

We have a contact through a local Mexican gov official who said he would set up a meeting with the Ixtapa marina manager so there is still a slim chance that we might get a slip for what we consider a reasonable price. However, folks in the know have suggested that we look elsewhere anyway. The majority are proposing that Puerto Vallarta is a nicer area and more affordable.

We're in no big hurry so it's not critical that we find something soon but I have to admit that I was very disappointed in the prices here in Ixtapa. I guess we missed the "cheap Mexico" stuff by at least 10-15 years.

I'll post a couple of Ixtapa marina pics in the next day or so. The "Danger! No Swimming; Crocodiles" sign is amusing. The have small crocs here - their habitat was destroyed to create the resort area/marina in the 1970's so they just moved into the "new" habitat. They have been know to grab small dogs/cats off the docks/fingers. If you want to do scuba boat work you have to move the boat out into the bay where the crocs aren't!